


What Makes Us Family

by orphan_account



Series: I'm Here For You (Hood-Mills Family) [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Hood-Mills Family, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 16:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4674119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roland is bullied at school. Henry interferes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Makes Us Family

“Did you know that his father’s name is Robin Hood? Like from that fairy tale.” 

While the other three loughed loudly, the first one stepped closer and roughly pulled Roland’s lunch bag out of his hands. Tears welling up in his eyes, Roland abruptly stood up from the big flat stone he was sitting on in the middle of the school park and tried to run away, but the four of them lined side by side, blocking his way. 

“Leave him alone.” Came a calm but demanding voice from behind them. Through the gap between the two boys Roland saw Henry. 

When all four turned to look at him, Henry recognized the bullies. They were in the same year as him, two of them even had some classes together with him. From what he knew of the boys, he wasn’t surprised to see them picking on someone half their age. 

“Oh hey, what’s up, Mills?” Said one of them, looking down on Henry. 

Using the moment the bullies were distracted, Roland ran towards Henry and Henry pushed him behind himself, as if trying to shield him from all the cruelty in the world. The four boys laughed so loudly, the sound echoed in the trees behind them. 

“The fact that your parents screw each other doesn’t make this whiny kid your _family_ , Mills.” One of them smirked at him smugly, playing with Roland’s lunch bag. 

Knowing about his abusive parents and older brother, Henry decided not to retaliate with: ‘What would _you_ know about family?’. Instead, he stepped forward, feeling Roland gently tug at the sleeve of his shirt. 

“Give it back.” He said, pointing to the lunch bag. 

The boys eyed each other and one of them opened the bag. Henry saw three impeccably wrapped sandwiches Regina and Robin had made in the morning, a pack of orange juice and a big red apple. He had an identical one in his own backpack. 

“I don’t think so, Mills. See, we haven’t had our lunch yet and the stuff this one’s got looks delicious.” 

Before they could realize what was happening, Henry broke free of Roland’s grip, stepped forward and ripped the lunch bag out of the hands of the boy who was holding it. 

_“Go!”_ He shouted to Roland, tossing him his lunch. The little boy took off but Henry didn’t see where because he was soon surrounded by the bullies. 

He stepped back, bumping into one of them and the boys pushed him roughly to the ground. Henry fell on his back into the cold mud, staining his clothes. 

“Not so brave now, are you, Mills?” The boys laughed as Henry tried to get up, struggling on the slippery surface. 

“Give our best wishes to _mommy mayor._ ” The other said, his words followed by a hard kick to Henry’s face. 

Willing himself not to make a sound, Henry closed his eyes shut and threw his head back into the mud, hearing the four pairs of footsteps fade. 

Henry laid on the cold ground for a while, feeling the hot blood leaking from his nose, trailing down his cheeks and dripping into the mud. When the metallic taste settled on his tongue, he realized he must have bitten it in pain and the attempt to stay quiet. 

He only opened his eyes when he felt a small, warm hand on his shoulder. He didn’t hear Roland approaching; he was taught by Robin to walk without making a sound back when they were still living in the Enchanted Forest. Roland was kneeling beside him, holding out a white tissue Regina had carefully folded inside the pocket of his backpack. 

Taking the cloth, Henry sat up and wiped the blood from his face the best he could, feeling Roland’s dexterous little fingers collecting pieces of mud from his hair. Roland then tugged him up on his feet and when they stepped out of the shadows into the sunlight, Henry closed his eyes, finally feeling warm. 


End file.
